


Swedish Mackerel

by momothesweet



Category: Free!
Genre: Candy, Cat Ears, Fluff, Gen, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Iwatobi-chan, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trick or Treating, fanfic you can actually read in public and not be worried about people standing behind you, i can't believe that's a tag lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-22 20:02:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2520020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/momothesweet/pseuds/momothesweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako and Haru take Ran and Ren trick-or-treating. But it looks like Haru wants to join in on the fun, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swedish Mackerel

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man.  
> Instead of studying or doing something productive with my life, I wrote this quick thing. Also, it's my first Free! fic, which is exciting.  
> Grab your chocolate, kids - it's time for a little story.

Ran and Ren flew down the stairs, Ran’s vampire cape midair and Ren’s fireman helmet practically flying off his head. Mako and Haru stood by the door, waiting patiently for the two to get their shoes on and ready for a night of trick or treating.

“Are you sure this looks okay?” Mako asked. He adjusted the brown cat ears, bound by a clear rubber band, on his head.

Haru looked blankly at him. “You look fine.”

Mako, always and never surprised at Haru’s answers, returned the answer with a smile.

“I wonder if there’s mackerel-flavored candy,” Haru said. He looked down at his mask, a crude but accurate model of Iwatobi’s head. He put it on.

“Ewww, who are you supposed to be, Haru?” Ren exclaimed.

“Iwatobi.”

“Who’s Iwatobi?”

“Our mascot from school.”

“He looks weird!” Ran said.

“Now, now,” Mako butted in. “It’s time to go.”

The two cheered as they jumped up and headed out the door. Mako and Haru followed them out into the neighborhood, clad in orange lights and little pumpkins and all the sorts of spooky decorations. Children walked across the streets and along the sidewalks, some in sheets as ghost and others as monsters and skeletons. Though it was not clear if Haru could see all of this; he bumped into a streetlamp not ten steps away from Mako’s house.

“Haru! Are you okay? Can you even see?” Mako held onto Haru’s oddly-made mask, attempting to see if he’s intact inside.

“I’m fine,” he said. “I want mackerel candy.”

Mako sighed. He turned to see Ran and Ren already darting to the first house.

“Hey! Don’t run! Wait for us!”

From the sidewalk, Mako and Haru watched the two receive candy from the first house. As they ran to them so they could go to the next house, Haru stopped Ren and looked in his pumpkin-shaped bucket.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to see if there’s mackerel candy.”

“What?”

“Haru, stop,” Mako said, returning the bucket to Ren. “We can find you candy later.”

“Can I go trick or treating with Ran and Ren?”

“What?” Mako raised his eyebrows. His ears looked like they perked up, too. “You can’t trick or treat! You’re too old to-”

“But I want candy.”

“Makooo!” Ran drew out. “Let Haru trick or treat with us. It’ll be fun!”

Mako hesitated. Haru (or Iwatobi, really), turned slowly to Mako, awaiting his approval.

“Fine,” he said.

“You don’t have anything to put your candy in, though,” Mako said. “What are you going to use?”

“You can use this!” Ran picked up a plastic bag stuck in a tree nearby. Haru took the bag and opened it, ready for business.

“Let’s go.”

Mako let out a frustrated sigh as they walked to the next house.

House after house, Haru followed Ran and Ren to doorsteps, indifferently saying “trick or treat.” Each time they all walked back to Mako, he looked diligently at the candy given to him. None of them looked like mackerel candy.

“Look! Here’s a package of Swedish Fish!”

Mako held up the small package of red, fish-shaped gummies to Haru. The Iwatobi head shook, as if saying “no.” Before Mako could groan, he saw his siblings wave at them.

“Haru!” Ran and Ren cried. “Let’s go this one next!”

Haru followed, Mako dragging himself along. He stopped when he saw familiar faces across the street, also waving excitedly.

Nagisa ran up to Mako, smiling as bright as ever in his cowboy hat. His outfit was complete - spurs and all. Rei, in a tight purple onesie and sparkly butterfly wings, came up behind Nagisa soon after. It was the first thing Mako noticed.

“Rei! Your costume…”

“I know! Isn’t it beautiful?”

Mako strained his “yes.” Nagisa threw up his jack-o-lantern bucket up to Mako’s face. He shook it to emphasize the hefty load.

“Look at all the candy we got so far! And we haven’t been down this street yet.”

“Wait, you’re trick or treating?”

“Of course! I wanted candy.”

“And Nagisa convinced me to come along with him,” Rei said.

Nagisa eagerly pointed up the direction Mako was going in.

“Hey! Is that Haru in the Iwatobi head? Haruuuu!”

“Nagisa, wait for me!”

Nagisa took off, with Rei not far behind him. Mako followed the rest of his friends as they walked to a doorstep of yet another house for candy. Nagisa turned around and waved to Mako, still at the sidewalk of the house.

“Makooo! Come get some candy.”

Mako smiled warmly and held a hand up, declining his offer.

The gang returned to him, inspecting all of the candy they’ve received from their trick or treating experience by shaking their bags and buckets. Haru looked intently in his plastic bag through his Iwatobi head, searching for that mackerel candy.

“Let’s go down the rest of this street,” Haru said.

“Wait, Haru, it’s getting late and-”

Mako’s voice was drowned over the excited cries of Ran, Ren, Rei and Nagisa. He sighed again, and followed them the rest of the way to houses, neighbors acknowledging little Ran and Ren and hesitating to give candy to Haru/Iwatobi. It was a little more tiring than he expected, but there was something warming, seeing Haru and everyone else receiving candy.

\---

It was about nine o’clock when everyone crashed at Mako’s house, everyone dumping their candy on the living room table and floor, the Iwatobi head in the corner of the room staring at the scene. Ran and Ren threw their candy in the air like confetti. Rei and Nagisa began trading their candy with determination. Haru, at the edge of the madness, continued looking through his candy pile and then at everyone else’s to look for that beloved candy.

“I can’t find it…” Haru said softly.

Mako looked at Haru’s searchful face, and his eyes lit up as if he remembered something. He got up and walked to the kitchen, almost stepping on Ran and Ren’s candy.

“Mako, you giant!”

“Sorry!”

Mako rummaged through a cabinet and pulled out a good-sized bag of candy. Ran and Ren immediately noticed.

“Is that more candy?”

“I want some!”

“This bag is for Haru.”

Everyone in the room looked up. Haru’s eyes lit up. He immediately stood and took the bag from a smiling Mako. Inside the package was little packages of Swedish Fish.

“Mackerel candy?”

Mako nodded.

“Actually,” Rei said, I think they’re herri-”

Nagisa smacked his hand over Rei’s mouth to keep him from saying anything.

Haru sat back down with the group to open a little package of Swedish Fish. He popped the little red sweet in his mouth and chewed slowly. Everyone looked at him, awaiting his reaction. Haru remained expressionless.

“It doesn’t taste like mackerel.”

There was a general groan from the crowd.

“That’s because it’s candy!” Ran and Ren said in unison.

“I thought it would taste like mackerel.”

They all laughed, and they continued rolling in their treasures of candy. Mako took a package of Swedish Fish.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had this bag earlier?” Haru asked as he impulsively put another small fish in his mouth.

“I forgot we were supposed to give these away,” Mako said. “But since you’ve really wanted this...”

He paused and smiled to himself. Haru patiently waited for him to finish.

“Just don’t eat too much, okay? You’ll get sick.”

Mako could see the tiniest smile Haru formed. It was all he needed to know that Haru appreciated the gift. The kiss on the cheek helped, too. Mako turned about as red as the fish. It took him a moment to come back down from his own high, which didn’t require the copious amounts of sugar surrounding them.

“Happy Halloween, Haru.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's definitely not porn (hell, your grandma can read this) but I hope you all got a kick outta that. :)
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated. Thanks so much and have a wonderful and safe Halloween!


End file.
